Preview:Bournemouth vs Manchester United - prediction, team news, lineups

After both winning their opening match, Bournemouth and Manchester United will go head-to-head at Soldier Field in Chicago on Wednesday night in the Premier League Summer Series.

As the highest-ranked Premier League team at this mini-competition from last season, Bournemouth began in some style against Everton, while Man United showed improvements in their win over West Ham United.

Match preview

Compared to the end of last season, Man United looked much better against West Ham on Saturday night, especially in the opening 45 minutes, on their way to a 2-1 win.

It was a marked improvement even on their three friendlies since the back end of last season, which also included a strange post-season tour to Asia, where the Red Devils inexplicably lost to an ASEAN All-Stars XI.

There is big pressure on the club to get it right this summer, as big money has been spent again in a public backing of manager Ruben Amorim, who is also starting to feel the heat.

United regressed badly under Amorim after he replaced Erik ten Hag in November last season, finishing all the way down in 15th - their worst-ever PL finish.

After getting exactly half of Liverpool’s points tally last season, a huge improvement is needed, because any repeat of the results from 2024-25 will see Amorim’s time at the club come to an abrupt end.

Before a tricky start against Arsenal, Man United now face a big challenge in the form of Bournemouth, before playing Everton on Sunday, and Fiorentina on the final weekend before the new campaign.

Man United know all too well what the Cherries are capable of, because Bournemouth beat them 3-0 at Old Trafford for a second consecutive season last year, extending the Red Devils’ winless run to four games in this fixture.

That was the same scoreline Bournemouth beat Everton in their Summer Series opener at the weekend, as a dominant second-half performance saw Andoni Iraola’s men blow the Toffees away.

Iraola has a huge challenge on his hands to replicate last season’s record-setting ninth-place finish in the Premier League, especially with Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez having left for pastures new.

It has been a perfect preseason so far though, after also beating Hibernian and Bristol City before flying Stateside, and winning the Summer Series will set them in good stead before facing Real Sociedad a week before going to Anfield for the opening game of the Premier League season.

Bournemouth Club Friendlies form:

W W W

Manchester United Club Friendlies form:

L W D W

Team News

Lisandro Martinez remains the only long-term absentee for Man United, with Noussair Mazraoui expected to return in the near future, along with Joshua Zirkzee, who also missed the West Ham win.

Amorim has confirmed Bryan Mbeumo will not play any part in this friendly, but he will be involved in their final Summer Series encounter against Everton on Sunday.

Fellow new signing Matheus Cunha has started both friendlies since joining the club, and was one of 21 players used by Amorim against West Ham, with goalkeeper Altay Bayindir the only one to play 90 minutes.

Djordje Petrovic and Adrien Truffert both started for Bournemouth in their win over Everton on Saturday, with the two summer signings set to be pivotal members of the Cherries team this season.

Alex Scott and Julian Araujo got their first minutes of preseason after being afforded additional time off due to their international commitments over the summer, and the two could be given a start here.

Philip Billing could also play a central role again after a man-of-the-match performance off the bench at the weekend, in which he scored a stunning opening goal, following a six-month loan spell at Napoli last season.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Petrovic; Araujo, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Truffert; Billing, Scott, Brooks; Semenyo, Evanilson, Ouattara

Manchester United possible starting lineup:

Bayindir; Yoro, Maguire, Heaven; Dalot, Casemiro, Mount, Shaw; Fernandes, Hojlund, Cunha

We say: Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester United

Bournemouth flexed their muscles against Everton in a commanding win, and another could be on the cards here against a Man United side expected to make some changes from the team that impressed against West Ham.

The Red Devils have run into some problems against the Cherries in recent times, and with Mbeumo still not available, they are still lacking firepower outside of their reliable skipper Bruno Fernandes.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.